ProjectNovel algorithm for treatment planning of patients with osteoarthritis

Researcher (PI)Rami Kristian KORHONEN

Host Institution (HI)ITA-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO

Call DetailsProof of Concept (PoC), PC1, ERC-2016-PoC

SummaryOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease affecting over 40 million Europeans. Most common consequences of OA are pain, disability and social isolation. What is alarming, the number of patients will increase 50% in developed countries during the next 20 years. Moreover, the economic costs of OA are considerable since 1) direct healthcare (hospital admissions, medical examinations, drug therapy, etc.) and 2) productivity costs due to reduced performance while at work and absence from work have been estimated to be between 1% and 2.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Western countries.
We have developed an algorithm that is able to predict the progression of OA for overweight subjects while healthy subjects do not develop OA. When employed in clinical use, preventive and personalised treatments can be started before clinically significant symptoms are observed. This marks a major breakthrough in improving the life quality of OA patients and patients prone to OA. Our discovery will directly lead to longer working careers and lesser absence from work, and will result subsequently increased productivity. Moreover, the patients are expected to live longer due to reduced disability and social isolation.
Moreover, the discovery provides economic long-term relief for the health care system, which is burdened by increasing geriatric population and stringent economic environment. With our tool, as an example, by eliminating 25% of medical examinations annually due to overweight or obesity in Finland (150.000 patients), we estimate to decrease annual direct costs by 140M€ and indirect costs by 185M€.
In the PoC project we will carry out technical proof-of-concept and perform pre-commercialisation actions to shorten the time to market. The ultimate goal after the project is to develop our innovation towards a software product, aiding the OA diagnostics in hospitals and having commercialisation potential amongst medical device companies.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease affecting over 40 million Europeans. Most common consequences of OA are pain, disability and social isolation. What is alarming, the number of patients will increase 50% in developed countries during the next 20 years. Moreover, the economic costs of OA are considerable since 1) direct healthcare (hospital admissions, medical examinations, drug therapy, etc.) and 2) productivity costs due to reduced performance while at work and absence from work have been estimated to be between 1% and 2.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Western countries.
We have developed an algorithm that is able to predict the progression of OA for overweight subjects while healthy subjects do not develop OA. When employed in clinical use, preventive and personalised treatments can be started before clinically significant symptoms are observed. This marks a major breakthrough in improving the life quality of OA patients and patients prone to OA. Our discovery will directly lead to longer working careers and lesser absence from work, and will result subsequently increased productivity. Moreover, the patients are expected to live longer due to reduced disability and social isolation.
Moreover, the discovery provides economic long-term relief for the health care system, which is burdened by increasing geriatric population and stringent economic environment. With our tool, as an example, by eliminating 25% of medical examinations annually due to overweight or obesity in Finland (150.000 patients), we estimate to decrease annual direct costs by 140M€ and indirect costs by 185M€.
In the PoC project we will carry out technical proof-of-concept and perform pre-commercialisation actions to shorten the time to market. The ultimate goal after the project is to develop our innovation towards a software product, aiding the OA diagnostics in hospitals and having commercialisation potential amongst medical device companies.

Max ERC Funding

150 000 €

Duration

Start date: 2018-01-01, End date: 2019-06-30

Project acronymATM-GTP

ProjectAtmospheric Gas-to-Particle conversion

Researcher (PI)Markku KULMALA

Host Institution (HI)HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO

Call DetailsAdvanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2016-ADG

SummaryAtmospheric Gas-to-Particle conversion (ATM-GTP) is a 5-year project focusing on one of the most critical atmospheric processes relevant to global climate and air quality: the first steps of atmospheric aerosol particle formation and growth. The project will concentrate on the currently lacking environmentally-specific knowledge about the interacting, non-linear, physical and chemical atmospheric processes associated with nano-scale gas-to-particle conversion (GTP). The main scientific objective of ATM-GTP is to create a deep understanding on atmospheric GTP taking place at the sub-5 nm size range, particularly in heavily-polluted Chinese mega cities like Beijing and in pristine environments like Siberia and Nordic high-latitude regions. We also aim to find out how nano-GTM is associated with air quality-climate interactions and feedbacks. We are interested in quantifying the effect of nano-GTP on the COBACC (Continental Biosphere-Aerosol-Cloud-Climate) feedback loop that is important in Arctic and boreal regions. Our approach enables to point out the effective reduction mechanisms of the secondary air pollution by a factor of 5-10 and to make reliable estimates of the global and regional aerosol loads, including anthropogenic and biogenic contributions to these loads. We can estimate the future role of Northern Hemispheric biosphere in reducing the global radiative forcing via the quantified feedbacks. The project is carried out by the world-leading scientist in atmospheric aerosol science, being also one of the founders of terrestrial ecosystem meteorology, together with his research team. The project uses novel infrastructures including SMEAR (Stations Measuring Ecosystem Atmospheric Relations) stations, related modelling platforms and regional data from Russia and China. The work will be carried out in synergy with several national, Nordic and EU research-innovation projects: Finnish Center of Excellence-ATM, Nordic CoE-CRAICC and EU-FP7-BACCHUS.

Atmospheric Gas-to-Particle conversion (ATM-GTP) is a 5-year project focusing on one of the most critical atmospheric processes relevant to global climate and air quality: the first steps of atmospheric aerosol particle formation and growth. The project will concentrate on the currently lacking environmentally-specific knowledge about the interacting, non-linear, physical and chemical atmospheric processes associated with nano-scale gas-to-particle conversion (GTP). The main scientific objective of ATM-GTP is to create a deep understanding on atmospheric GTP taking place at the sub-5 nm size range, particularly in heavily-polluted Chinese mega cities like Beijing and in pristine environments like Siberia and Nordic high-latitude regions. We also aim to find out how nano-GTM is associated with air quality-climate interactions and feedbacks. We are interested in quantifying the effect of nano-GTP on the COBACC (Continental Biosphere-Aerosol-Cloud-Climate) feedback loop that is important in Arctic and boreal regions. Our approach enables to point out the effective reduction mechanisms of the secondary air pollution by a factor of 5-10 and to make reliable estimates of the global and regional aerosol loads, including anthropogenic and biogenic contributions to these loads. We can estimate the future role of Northern Hemispheric biosphere in reducing the global radiative forcing via the quantified feedbacks. The project is carried out by the world-leading scientist in atmospheric aerosol science, being also one of the founders of terrestrial ecosystem meteorology, together with his research team. The project uses novel infrastructures including SMEAR (Stations Measuring Ecosystem Atmospheric Relations) stations, related modelling platforms and regional data from Russia and China. The work will be carried out in synergy with several national, Nordic and EU research-innovation projects: Finnish Center of Excellence-ATM, Nordic CoE-CRAICC and EU-FP7-BACCHUS.

Max ERC Funding

2 500 000 €

Duration

Start date: 2017-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31

Project acronymBrainDrain

ProjectTranslational implications of the discovery of brain-draining lymphatics

Researcher (PI)Kari ALITALO

Host Institution (HI)HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO

Call DetailsAdvanced Grant (AdG), LS7, ERC-2016-ADG

SummaryIn 2010, 800 billion Euros was spent on brain diseases in Europe and the cost is expected to increase due to the aging population. – Here I propose to exploit our new discovery for research to alleviate this disease burden. In work selected by Nature Medicine among the top 10 ”Notable Advances” and by Science as one of the 10 ”Breakthroughs of the year” 2015, we discovered a meningeal lymphatic vascular system that serves brain homeostasis. We want to reassess current concepts about cerebrovascular dynamics, fluid drainage and cellular trafficking in physiological conditions, in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models and in human postmortem tissues. First, we will study the development and properties of meningeal lymphatics and how they are sustained during aging. We then want to analyse the clearance of macromolecules and protein aggregates in Alzheimer’s disease in mice that lack the newly discovered meningeal lymphatic drainage system. We will study if growth factor-mediated expansion of lymphatic vessels alleviates the parenchymal accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid beta and pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and brain damage after traumatic brain injury. We will further analyse the role of lymphangiogenic growth factors and lymphatic vessels in brain solute clearance, immune cell trafficking and in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. The meningeal lymphatics could be involved in a number of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases of considerable human and socioeconomic burden. Several of our previous concepts have already been translated to clinical development and we aim to develop proof-of-principle therapeutic concepts in this project. I feel that we are just now in a unique position to advance frontline European translational biomedical research in this suddenly emerging field, which has received great attention worldwide.

In 2010, 800 billion Euros was spent on brain diseases in Europe and the cost is expected to increase due to the aging population. – Here I propose to exploit our new discovery for research to alleviate this disease burden. In work selected by Nature Medicine among the top 10 ”Notable Advances” and by Science as one of the 10 ”Breakthroughs of the year” 2015, we discovered a meningeal lymphatic vascular system that serves brain homeostasis. We want to reassess current concepts about cerebrovascular dynamics, fluid drainage and cellular trafficking in physiological conditions, in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models and in human postmortem tissues. First, we will study the development and properties of meningeal lymphatics and how they are sustained during aging. We then want to analyse the clearance of macromolecules and protein aggregates in Alzheimer’s disease in mice that lack the newly discovered meningeal lymphatic drainage system. We will study if growth factor-mediated expansion of lymphatic vessels alleviates the parenchymal accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid beta and pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and brain damage after traumatic brain injury. We will further analyse the role of lymphangiogenic growth factors and lymphatic vessels in brain solute clearance, immune cell trafficking and in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. The meningeal lymphatics could be involved in a number of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases of considerable human and socioeconomic burden. Several of our previous concepts have already been translated to clinical development and we aim to develop proof-of-principle therapeutic concepts in this project. I feel that we are just now in a unique position to advance frontline European translational biomedical research in this suddenly emerging field, which has received great attention worldwide.

Max ERC Funding

2 420 429 €

Duration

Start date: 2017-08-01, End date: 2022-07-31

Project acronymDenseMatter

ProjectHigh-density QCD matter from first principles

Researcher (PI)Aleksi VUORINEN

Host Institution (HI)HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO

Call DetailsConsolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2016-COG

SummaryPredicting the collective properties of strongly interacting matter at the highest densities reached within the present-day Universe is one of the most prominent challenges in modern nuclear theory. It is motivated by the desire to map out the complicated phase diagram of the theory, and perhaps even more importantly by the mystery surrounding the inner structure of neutron stars. The task is, however, severely complicated by the notorious Sign Problem of lattice QCD, due to which no nonperturbative first principles methods are available for tackling it.
The proposal at hand approaches the strong interaction challenge using a first principles toolbox containing most importantly the machinery of modern resummed perturbation theory and effective field theory. Our main technical goal is to determine three new orders in the weak coupling expansion of the Equation of State (EoS) of unpaired zero-temperature quark matter. Alongside this effort, we will investigate the derivation of a new type of effective description for cold and dense QCD, allowing us to include to the EoS contributions from quark pairing more accurately than what is possible at present.
The highlight result of our work will be the derivation of the most accurate neutron star matter EoS to date, which will be obtained by combining insights from our work with those originating from the Chiral Effective Theory of nuclear interactions. We anticipate being able to reduce the current uncertainty in the EoS by nearly a factor of two, which will convert into a precise prediction for the Mass-Radius relation of the stars. This will be a milestone result in nuclear astrophysics, and in combination with emerging observational data on stellar masses and radii will contribute to solving one of the most intriguing puzzles in the field – the nature of the most compact stars in the Universe.

Predicting the collective properties of strongly interacting matter at the highest densities reached within the present-day Universe is one of the most prominent challenges in modern nuclear theory. It is motivated by the desire to map out the complicated phase diagram of the theory, and perhaps even more importantly by the mystery surrounding the inner structure of neutron stars. The task is, however, severely complicated by the notorious Sign Problem of lattice QCD, due to which no nonperturbative first principles methods are available for tackling it.
The proposal at hand approaches the strong interaction challenge using a first principles toolbox containing most importantly the machinery of modern resummed perturbation theory and effective field theory. Our main technical goal is to determine three new orders in the weak coupling expansion of the Equation of State (EoS) of unpaired zero-temperature quark matter. Alongside this effort, we will investigate the derivation of a new type of effective description for cold and dense QCD, allowing us to include to the EoS contributions from quark pairing more accurately than what is possible at present.
The highlight result of our work will be the derivation of the most accurate neutron star matter EoS to date, which will be obtained by combining insights from our work with those originating from the Chiral Effective Theory of nuclear interactions. We anticipate being able to reduce the current uncertainty in the EoS by nearly a factor of two, which will convert into a precise prediction for the Mass-Radius relation of the stars. This will be a milestone result in nuclear astrophysics, and in combination with emerging observational data on stellar masses and radii will contribute to solving one of the most intriguing puzzles in the field – the nature of the most compact stars in the Universe.

SummaryDuring the recent years, biological materials have extensively inspired materials scientists towards new properties, e.g., for composites, photonics, and wetting. The future grand challenge is to mimic biological active materials towards new properties that commonly have not been connected with man-made materials. Due to the biological complexity, conceptually new approaches are needed in materials science. In the project DRIVEN, field-driven dissipative out-of-equilibrium self-assemblies are developed in the colloidal and molecular scale. In the proposal, instead of using chemical fuels to drive dissipative self-assemblies, which is ubiquitous in Nature, imposed fields are here used to drive the system out-of-equilibrium towards new assemblies and functions. The project show steps with growing risks towards highly ambitious new materials mimicking aspects from active biological materials.

During the recent years, biological materials have extensively inspired materials scientists towards new properties, e.g., for composites, photonics, and wetting. The future grand challenge is to mimic biological active materials towards new properties that commonly have not been connected with man-made materials. Due to the biological complexity, conceptually new approaches are needed in materials science. In the project DRIVEN, field-driven dissipative out-of-equilibrium self-assemblies are developed in the colloidal and molecular scale. In the proposal, instead of using chemical fuels to drive dissipative self-assemblies, which is ubiquitous in Nature, imposed fields are here used to drive the system out-of-equilibrium towards new assemblies and functions. The project show steps with growing risks towards highly ambitious new materials mimicking aspects from active biological materials.

SummaryMaking cancer treatment more personalized and effective is one of the grand challenges in our health care system. However, many drugs have entered clinical trials but so far showed limited efficacy or induced rapid development of resistance. We critically need multi-targeted drug combinations, which shall selectively inhibit the cancer cells and block the emergence of drug resistance. This project will develop mathematical and computational tools to identify drug combinations that can be used to provide personalized and more effective therapeutic strategies that may prevent acquired resistance. Utilizing molecular profiling and pharmacological screening data from patient-derived leukaemia and ovarian cancer samples, I will develop model-based clustering methods for identification of patient subgroups that are differentially responsive to first-line chemotherapy. For patients resistant to chemotherapy, I will develop network modelling approaches to predict the most potential drug combinations by understanding the underlying drug target interactions. The drug combination prediction will be made for each patient and will be validated using a preclinical drug testing platform on patient samples. I will explore the drug combination screen data to identify significant synergy at the therapeutically relevant doses. The drug combination hits will be mapped into signalling networks to infer their mechanisms. Drug combinations with selective efficacy in individual patient samples or in sample subgroups will be further translated into in treatment options by clinical collaborators. This will lead to novel and personalized strategies to treat cancer patients.

Making cancer treatment more personalized and effective is one of the grand challenges in our health care system. However, many drugs have entered clinical trials but so far showed limited efficacy or induced rapid development of resistance. We critically need multi-targeted drug combinations, which shall selectively inhibit the cancer cells and block the emergence of drug resistance. This project will develop mathematical and computational tools to identify drug combinations that can be used to provide personalized and more effective therapeutic strategies that may prevent acquired resistance. Utilizing molecular profiling and pharmacological screening data from patient-derived leukaemia and ovarian cancer samples, I will develop model-based clustering methods for identification of patient subgroups that are differentially responsive to first-line chemotherapy. For patients resistant to chemotherapy, I will develop network modelling approaches to predict the most potential drug combinations by understanding the underlying drug target interactions. The drug combination prediction will be made for each patient and will be validated using a preclinical drug testing platform on patient samples. I will explore the drug combination screen data to identify significant synergy at the therapeutically relevant doses. The drug combination hits will be mapped into signalling networks to infer their mechanisms. Drug combinations with selective efficacy in individual patient samples or in sample subgroups will be further translated into in treatment options by clinical collaborators. This will lead to novel and personalized strategies to treat cancer patients.

Max ERC Funding

1 500 000 €

Duration

Start date: 2017-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31

Project acronymEASY

ProjectEjection Accretion Structures in YSOs (EASY)

Researcher (PI)Thomas RAY

Host Institution (HI)DUBLIN INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES

Call DetailsAdvanced Grant (AdG), PE9, ERC-2016-ADG

SummaryFor a number of reasons, in particular their proximity and the abundant range of diagnostics to determine their characteristics, outflows from young stellar objects (YSOs) offer us the best opportunity of discovering how astrophysical jets are generated and the nature of the link between outflows and their accretion disks. Models predict that the jet is initially launched from within 0.1 to a few au of the star and focused on scales at most ten times larger. Thus, even for the nearest star formation region, we need high spatial resolution to image the “central engine” and test current models.
With these ideas in mind, and the availability of a whole new set of observational and computational resources, it is proposed to investigate the origin of YSO jets, and the jet/accretion zone link, using a number of highly novel approaches to test magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) models including:
(a) Near-infrared interferometry to determine the spatial distribution and kinematics of the outflow as it is launched as a way of discriminating between competing models.
(b) A multi-epoch study of the strength and configuration of the magnetic field of the parent star to see whether model values and geometries agree with observations and the nature of its variability.
(c) Examining, through high spatial resolution radio observations, how the ionized component of these jets are collimated very close to the source and how shocks in the flow can give rise to low energy cosmic rays.
(d) Use the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and, in particular, the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to investigate with high spatial resolution atomic jets from protostars that are still acquiring most of their mass. In addition, we will study how accretion is affected by metallicity by studying young solar-like stars in the low metallicity Magellanic Clouds.
In all cases the required observational campaigns have been approved.

For a number of reasons, in particular their proximity and the abundant range of diagnostics to determine their characteristics, outflows from young stellar objects (YSOs) offer us the best opportunity of discovering how astrophysical jets are generated and the nature of the link between outflows and their accretion disks. Models predict that the jet is initially launched from within 0.1 to a few au of the star and focused on scales at most ten times larger. Thus, even for the nearest star formation region, we need high spatial resolution to image the “central engine” and test current models.
With these ideas in mind, and the availability of a whole new set of observational and computational resources, it is proposed to investigate the origin of YSO jets, and the jet/accretion zone link, using a number of highly novel approaches to test magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) models including:
(a) Near-infrared interferometry to determine the spatial distribution and kinematics of the outflow as it is launched as a way of discriminating between competing models.
(b) A multi-epoch study of the strength and configuration of the magnetic field of the parent star to see whether model values and geometries agree with observations and the nature of its variability.
(c) Examining, through high spatial resolution radio observations, how the ionized component of these jets are collimated very close to the source and how shocks in the flow can give rise to low energy cosmic rays.
(d) Use the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and, in particular, the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to investigate with high spatial resolution atomic jets from protostars that are still acquiring most of their mass. In addition, we will study how accretion is affected by metallicity by studying young solar-like stars in the low metallicity Magellanic Clouds.
In all cases the required observational campaigns have been approved.

Max ERC Funding

1 853 090 €

Duration

Start date: 2017-10-01, End date: 2022-09-30

Project acronymEuropean Unions

ProjectLabour Politics and the EU's New Economic Governance Regime

Researcher (PI)Roland ERNE

Host Institution (HI)UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN

Call DetailsConsolidator Grant (CoG), SH2, ERC-2016-COG

SummaryTrade unions play a major role in democratic interest intermediation. This role is currently threatened by the increasingly authoritarian strain in EU’s new economic governance (NEG). This project aims to explore the challenges and possibilities that the NEG poses to labour politics. Until recently, European labour politics has mainly been shaped by horizontal market integration through the free movement of goods, capital, services and people. After the financial crisis, the latter has been complemented by vertical integration effected through the direct surveillance of member states. The resulting NEG opens contradictory possibilities for labour movements in Europe.
On the one hand, the reliance of the NEG on vertical surveillance makes decisions taken in its name more tangible, offering concrete targets for contentious transnational collective action. On the other hand however, the NEG mimics the governance structures of multinational firms, by using key performance indicators that put countries in competition with one another. This constitutes a deterrent to transnational collective action. The NEG’s interventionist and competitive strains also pose the threat of nationalist counter-movements, thus making European collective action ever more vital for the future of EU integration and democracy.
This project has the following objectives:
1. To understand the interrelation between NEG and existing ‘horizontal’ EU economic governance; and the shifts in labour politics triggered by NEG;
2. To open up novel analytical approaches that are able to capture both national and transnational social processes at work;
3. To analyse the responses of established trade unions and new social movements to NEG in selected subject areas and economic sectors at national and EU levels, and their feedback effects on NEG;
4. To develop a new scientific paradigm capable of accounting for the interplay between EU economic governance, labour politics and EU democracy.

Trade unions play a major role in democratic interest intermediation. This role is currently threatened by the increasingly authoritarian strain in EU’s new economic governance (NEG). This project aims to explore the challenges and possibilities that the NEG poses to labour politics. Until recently, European labour politics has mainly been shaped by horizontal market integration through the free movement of goods, capital, services and people. After the financial crisis, the latter has been complemented by vertical integration effected through the direct surveillance of member states. The resulting NEG opens contradictory possibilities for labour movements in Europe.
On the one hand, the reliance of the NEG on vertical surveillance makes decisions taken in its name more tangible, offering concrete targets for contentious transnational collective action. On the other hand however, the NEG mimics the governance structures of multinational firms, by using key performance indicators that put countries in competition with one another. This constitutes a deterrent to transnational collective action. The NEG’s interventionist and competitive strains also pose the threat of nationalist counter-movements, thus making European collective action ever more vital for the future of EU integration and democracy.
This project has the following objectives:
1. To understand the interrelation between NEG and existing ‘horizontal’ EU economic governance; and the shifts in labour politics triggered by NEG;
2. To open up novel analytical approaches that are able to capture both national and transnational social processes at work;
3. To analyse the responses of established trade unions and new social movements to NEG in selected subject areas and economic sectors at national and EU levels, and their feedback effects on NEG;
4. To develop a new scientific paradigm capable of accounting for the interplay between EU economic governance, labour politics and EU democracy.

SummaryAtmospheric aerosol particles impact Earth’s climate, by directly scattering sunlight and indirectly by affecting cloud properties. The largest uncertainties in climate change projections are associated with the atmospheric aerosol system that has been altered by anthropogenic activities. A major source of that uncertainty involves the formation of secondary particles and cloud condensation nuclei from natural and anthropogenic emissions of volatile compounds. This research challenge persists despite significant efforts within recent decades.
I will build a research group that aims to resolve the atmospheric oxidation processes that convert volatile trace gases to particle precursor vapours, clusters and new aerosol particles. We will create novel measurement techniques and utilize the tremendous potential of mass spectrometry for detection of i) particle precursor vapours ii) oxidants, both conventional but also recently discovered stabilized Criegee intermediates, and, most importantly, iii) newly formed clusters. These methods and instrumentation will be applied for resolving the initial steps of new particle formation on molecular level from oxidation to clusters and stable aerosol particles. To reach these goals, targeted laboratory and field experiments together with long term field measurements will be performed employing the state-of-the-art instrumentation developed.
Principal outcomes of this project include i) new experimental methods and techniques vital for atmospheric research and a deep understanding of ii) oxidation pathways producing aerosol particle precursors, iii) the initial molecular steps of new particle formation and iv) mechanisms of growth of freshly formed clusters toward larger sizes, particularly in the crucial size range of a few nanometers. The conceptual understanding obtained during this project will open multiple new research horizons from oxidation chemistry to Earth system modeling.

Atmospheric aerosol particles impact Earth’s climate, by directly scattering sunlight and indirectly by affecting cloud properties. The largest uncertainties in climate change projections are associated with the atmospheric aerosol system that has been altered by anthropogenic activities. A major source of that uncertainty involves the formation of secondary particles and cloud condensation nuclei from natural and anthropogenic emissions of volatile compounds. This research challenge persists despite significant efforts within recent decades.
I will build a research group that aims to resolve the atmospheric oxidation processes that convert volatile trace gases to particle precursor vapours, clusters and new aerosol particles. We will create novel measurement techniques and utilize the tremendous potential of mass spectrometry for detection of i) particle precursor vapours ii) oxidants, both conventional but also recently discovered stabilized Criegee intermediates, and, most importantly, iii) newly formed clusters. These methods and instrumentation will be applied for resolving the initial steps of new particle formation on molecular level from oxidation to clusters and stable aerosol particles. To reach these goals, targeted laboratory and field experiments together with long term field measurements will be performed employing the state-of-the-art instrumentation developed.
Principal outcomes of this project include i) new experimental methods and techniques vital for atmospheric research and a deep understanding of ii) oxidation pathways producing aerosol particle precursors, iii) the initial molecular steps of new particle formation and iv) mechanisms of growth of freshly formed clusters toward larger sizes, particularly in the crucial size range of a few nanometers. The conceptual understanding obtained during this project will open multiple new research horizons from oxidation chemistry to Earth system modeling.

Max ERC Funding

1 953 790 €

Duration

Start date: 2017-02-01, End date: 2022-01-31

Project acronymGraTA

ProjectGraphene Tunneling Accelerometer

Researcher (PI)Pertti Hakonen

Host Institution (HI)AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR

Call DetailsProof of Concept (PoC), ERC-2016-PoC, ERC-2016-PoC

SummaryThe commercialization of existing tunneling accelerometers is hindered by their complex fabrication and long-term instability. Based on our results and expertise from the currently running ERC project, we propose an innovative design using graphene as the game-changing material for tunneling accelerometers.
The proposed graphene tunneling accelerometer has clear technical advantages, such as smaller size, wider bandwidth, simpler fabrication, and natural stability. A careful patent search indicates that the concept is novel for patent protection. Our industrial contacts have clear interest in this innovation, detailed user requirements on the accelerometer specifications have been recently mapped up. We have a capable team and a feasible plan towards the real-life commercialization of the proof-of-concept innovation. The output of the project is expected to be a long-pursued efficient application of graphene in high-end sensors. Continuity of the development and commercialization is strongly considered also after the project funding.

The commercialization of existing tunneling accelerometers is hindered by their complex fabrication and long-term instability. Based on our results and expertise from the currently running ERC project, we propose an innovative design using graphene as the game-changing material for tunneling accelerometers.
The proposed graphene tunneling accelerometer has clear technical advantages, such as smaller size, wider bandwidth, simpler fabrication, and natural stability. A careful patent search indicates that the concept is novel for patent protection. Our industrial contacts have clear interest in this innovation, detailed user requirements on the accelerometer specifications have been recently mapped up. We have a capable team and a feasible plan towards the real-life commercialization of the proof-of-concept innovation. The output of the project is expected to be a long-pursued efficient application of graphene in high-end sensors. Continuity of the development and commercialization is strongly considered also after the project funding.